Pipe fastening means



Jan. 5, 1954 A. s. BERG ET AL 2,665,146

PIPE FASTENING MEANS Filed Feb. 7, 1950 INVENTORF ABRA/W 3. BERG ARSEflg/S N. GOREGL/AD mm M ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 5, 1954 PIPE FASTENING MEANS Abram S. Berg and Arsenius N. Goregliad, Wyncote, Pa.

Application February '7, 1950, Serial No. 142,841

1 Claim.

This invention relates to fastening and it relates particularly to the permanent fastening together of two objects by elastic coupling means. The invention is peculiarly useful for permanently and securely fastening glass pipe or tubing in a wall structure such as the wall of a wooden drum or tank. It may be utilized where only one side of the wall is accessible, and it is effec tive even where the hole in the wall becomes distorted by the unequal swelling of the wood along and across its grain.

Permanent fastening means have heretofore been devised for fastening bolts or similar objects to walls having only one side accessible by boring a hole into or through the wall and fastening the bolt therein in various ways. Such fasteners have been highly useful for some purposes but they are not useful where flexible fastening is required such for example as where it is desired to have a pipe yieldably supported or where because of fragility glass pipe or the like might be broken by the permanent fastening means heretofore known. Moreover, in certain chemical processes it is not permissible to have any metal in contact with the contents of the pipe or tank, or even any nonmetallic substance other than the wood, the glass, and the inert, rubber-like substance of which the elastic coupling means is made in accordance with the invention.

On the other hand, glass tubing has been tem porarily supported in containers of various kinds by means of rubber stoppers having suitable central holes for the glass tubing. Fastening glass tubing by these rubber stoppers has not been sufficiently permanent or secure for some purposes since the stopper or the glass tubing could be removed by about the same force employed to insert it. In some cases it has been undesirable to cement the rubber stopper in place, or to cemerit the glass tubing thereto, for various reasons among which are the possibility of undesirable chemical reaction between the reagents of a chemical process and the cement when the glass tubing or pipe forms part of a chemical installation. No generally satisfactory cement is available.

In accordance with the invention, and as an object thereof, elongated members, such as glass pipes, are securely and permanently fastened in an aperture in a wall structure by correctly applying a fastener which superficially resembles an ordinary bottle stopper but which functions quite differently. This object is achieved, in one respect, by so distorting the fastener when it and the glass pipe are inserted into an aperture in the wall structure that thereafter the fastener functions like a toggle joint to prevent removal thereof or of the glass tube.

A further object of the invention is to permanently and securely fasten a glass tube, or similar member, in a wall structure by cheap and simple means that can be applied quickly by unskilled personnel without danger of subsequent loosening or leakage.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2---2 in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are small-scale diagrammatic views useful in explaining the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a small-scale diagrammatic view of a modification of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Wall structure is may, by way of example, be considered to be a portion of a wood stave forming part of a tank H. Aperture 12 in wall ill flares outwardly and may have a roughened inner surface it. Aperture i2 is shown substantially larger than the glass tube or pipe i i which is to be fastened therein for clearness, but it will be understood that the walls of fastener it may be quite thin. The use of thin-walled fasteners may be advantageous where a glass pipe is to be fastened in a narrow Wooden stave that would be weakened unduly by an aperture large enough to accommodate a fastener having thicker walls.

Fastener if; has an internal bore iii extending centrally therethrough and preferably of an initial diameter slightly less than. the outside diam eter of pipe Hi. Outside surface ii of fastener Iii preferably is tapered to correspond to the tapered inner surface of aperture it but it may be untapered, if desired, provided it is sufficiently pliable to conform to roughened surface it under pressure.

Inasmuch as glass pipes exemplified by pipe in, are commonly used in manufacturing processes where various chemicals flow therethrough fastener 15 should be made of a suitable material that will not react with the particular chemical with which it will be in contact. A moderately soft grade of rubber will be satisfactory in some cases while a synthetic rubber such as Neoprene or the material commonly known as Arneripol D-24 may be more generally useful.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 wherein distortion of fastener 55 is shown somewhat exaggerated for jack, not shown, to force fastener I5 to its final? position.

Pipe I 4 should fit snugly enough in bore I6; either because it was made with. a. sufficiently large outer diameter or because bore I6 was sumciently reduced in size by forcing fastener I5 into aperture I2, so that fastener-Idwillbestretched and distorted inwardly at its central. portion somewhat more than the final amount. When pipe I4 is released after thus being forced with this internal contraction against pipe I4 and the peripheral compression against wall I ll. Leakage around the pipe is effectively prevented.

It will be apparent that fastener I5 need not have exact dimensions, in accordance with the invention, since it may be made to conform properly to aperture I2 and pipe I4 merely by pressing it into the tapered aperture far enough for it to grip pipe I i properly before force is applied to the pipe to finally position it and fastener I5. This avoidance of the need for precision leads to inexpensive fasteners that may beapplied easily.

Tensional strains in fastener I5, except possible circumferential tension, are relieved when pipe IA is released leaving fastener I5 in radial compression, however, which compression will'greatly increase if an attempt is made to withdraw pipe I l toward the right, as seen in Fig. 1, thereby effectively preventing the removal of pipe I4. It will be apparent that the same increase in radial compression forces which causes fastener I5 to grip pipe i l to prevent its removal also expands fastener I5 in aperture I2 to effectively prevent its removal from wall Iileven though fastener-l5 should be somewhat larger or smaller than its intended diameter.

The roughness of surface I3 tends to retain fastener l5 in aperture I2 under the'greatoutward radial force exerted thereon; in accordance with the invention, when an attempt is made to withdraw pipe I 4- without, however, greatly interfering with pressing the pipe and fastener I5 into aperture 22 at which time the stretching inwardly of the central portion of fastener I5 tends to reduce the outer diameter thereof.

Referring to Fig. 3 the operation of theinvention resembles'to a certain extent the operation of the common toggle joint comprising members I3 and is hingedly secured to bar-20 by pin 2| and urged outwardly by'springs 22 and 23', respectively. It is apparent that bar 20 readily might be moved to the left, as seen in Fig. 3, thereby pressing together members I8 and Iii by the decreasing diameter of aperture I2: If an attempt should be made to move bar 29 toward the right,.as seen in Fig. 3,- members- II! and I9 '4 would thrust outwardly against surface I 3 at the same time bearing inwardly at pin 2| thereby preventing any substantial movement to the right of the bar 20.

Although the preceding paragraph helps in a general way to explain the operation of the invention, the substitution, in accordance therewith, of a rubber-like fastener for members I8 and I 9 and a'glass pipe for bar 20' results in more complex operation. In the first place, fastener I5 being elastic instead of rigid, as members I8 .andJ 9-are assumed to be, pipe I4 is yieldably held thereby'and will not easily be broken by slight relative, movement thereof with respect to wall ulfl idlle to vibration or shock. Nevertheless fastener I5 readily ma be so proportioned that it will notbe moved past center by any ordinary force. tending to remove pipe I4 from wall I0. Of course, if fastener I 5.should be so proportioned that itmay be moved past center so that it would be: outwardly distorted by an outward force on pip I4, the pipe would thereby be released.

Furthermoreit should be noted that in order to secure the above-mentioned toggle-joint action of fastener I5, it is stretched and distorted by thrusting pipe I4 inwardly of aperture I2 and at the same time, while fastener I5 is so stretched and distorted, it moves inwardl to a smaller diameter of aperture I2 to confine it circumferentially and prevent its springing back to its original shape when the inward force on pipe I4 is'released. For example, referring to Fig. 4, if a shoulder 2421 were provided on a fastener 511 to prevent its moving inwardly in aperture I2 undera force exerted on pipe I4, fastener I5a might be stretched and distorted very much like fastener, I5 but upon release of the inward force on pipe I4 it would spring back to its original configuration, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and pipe I4 or fastener I5a could be withdrawn with: the application thereupon of a force about equal and opposite to that which inserted it.

In accordance with theinvention it is contempiatedthat pipe I4 shall be held in wall ID by something more than the ordinary radial forces exerted on a tapered bottle stopper, the ordinary radial compressive forces being magnified many fold by the above-described toggle-joint action. Such toggle-joint action will be secured if fastener I5 be stretched and distorted inwardly as it is forced along the narrowing diameter of aperture I2. The aforesaid toggle-joint action will not'be secured if fastener I5 be forced into aperture I2 by force applied to the outer portion thereof, instead of to the inner portion as by application of inward force to pipe I4.

Referring to-Fig. 5, fastener I5 might be inserted into aperture I 2 by forces applied substantially at the points indicated by arrows 24 without the stretching and inward distortion illustrated in Fig. 1. Thus the only force tending. to hold pipe I4- would be the radial compressive forces produced by forcing fastener I 5 into aperture-I2, like a bottle stopper, without any togglejoint' action. Experience has shown that this kind of fastening is not secure and permanent enough for many purposes.

While a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described it will be understood that modifications thereof may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims. Particularly it will be. apparent that aperture I2 need not extendv entirely through wall I 0; it may be a. blind. pocket 25, as shown in Fig. 6, orthepooket may be interconnected with other passageways, not shown. Likewise the walls of pocket '25 need not flare outwardly provided fastener 15 is so proportioned that it will be distorted inwardly a substantial amount as it is forced into pocket 25 to produce the above-described toggle-joint action. However, the preferred construction includes tapered walls of pocket 25 or aperture 12 since, as mentioned, fastener [5 may then deviate considerably from its intended size.

What is claimed is:

An arrangement for permanently fastening a pipe member in an aperture in a wall structure comprising in combination, a wall structure having a substantially unyieldable outwardly diverging internal wall surface defining an aperture, an elongated compressible elastic fastener extending coaxially in said aperture and engaging said outwardly diverging internal wall surface in fluid-tight relation, said fastener havin. opposed surfaces at its ends and a passageway extending therethrough in substantially concentric relation with said outwardly diverging internal wall surface, and a pipe extending through said passageway in fluid-tight contact with its surface throughout the length of said passageway, said fastener being distorted by compressive forces and said surfaces at the ends of said fastener having an outwardly divergent relation with respect to said pipe, both of said end surfaces being outwardly divergent to the same side of said wall structure as the outwardly diverging internal wall surface of said aperture, said end surfaces of said fastener having moved to the latter position during insertion of said faspipe and said surface of said passageway, said compressive forces acting together to serve as the sole means of preventing withdrawal of said pipe and said fastener from said aperture.

ABRAM S. BERG. ARSENIUS N. GOREGLIAD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name Date 196,370 Macqueen Oct. 23, 1877 1,898,708 Barnes Feb. 21, 1933 2,047,976 Lord July 21, 1936 

